xXXXx

Chuck and Sarah stepped out of their apartment together. Sarah gladly took the hand offered by Chuck, weaving her fingers in among his, and the two turned towards Ellie and Devon's. Chuck had texted his sister a short while earlier to ask if he could pop over in the late morning, to which Ellie had responded, "Of course." She and Devon would be around, packing for their upcoming move to Chicago. His phone buzzed in his pocket at that moment; he pulled it out and looked at the sender. His cellular carrier with an offer. No thanks. He put the phone back in his pocket.

Chuck had refrained from mentioning to Ellie that Sarah was home or that she would be coming with him. Chuck had worried that his sister would bombard him with a million questions, or, more likely come straight over, and he wanted to let Sarah prepare herself and to determine the time at which she'd step into the Ellie whirlwind that was sure to come.

After only a few steps Chuck sensed through his grip on Sarah's hand that she was slowing. He glanced sideways at her and what he saw on her face grabbed at him, twisting his body such that he caught one foot's toe on the other's heel and nearly tripped himself. Stopping and catching himself, he asked Sarah, "Are you alright?" Nervousness was painted all over her face and present in her body language. He could not recall the last time he had seen her appear so timid, so… scared. "Sarah?"

"Chuck, what do I say to her? I threatened her life, pointed a gun at her, and didn't give it a second thought -like it was the next thing to do right after 'pick up the dry cleaning' on a list of errands. I sat with her in Castle afterwards and said nothing to her about it. No acknowledgment, no apology, nothing. She's like a sister to me and I did that to her."

"Remember, we're married. She is your sister," Chuck said gently, intending to reassure Sarah.

"Yes, Chuck, but there are sisters-in-law and then there are sisters. And since the beach I've known how fully she embraced me as her sister and how unbelievably valuable that is to me." Sarah's lips tightened as she struggled to keep her emotions from overtaking her.

"Right, and that has not changed. She knows that wasn't you sitting across from her that day and threatening her life. It was Quinn. He messed with your head and manipulated you. She still loves you and surely has forgiven you. I know my sister; I have no doubt. None."

Sarah's eyes were glossed with wetness. Her expression softened and the start of a smile lifted the corners of her mouth. "Ok, Chuck, if you say so," she said. Chuck thought her confidence was returning, or perhaps she was trying to not lose her nerve, as she pulled at his hand to get them moving again.

~oOo~

Sarah released Chuck's hand as he knocked on the door. It opened and Ellie stood there. Chuck could see Devon in the back over his sister's shoulder, wrangling a packed moving box, and Clara in a bouncing chair. "Hi, Chuck," Ellie said. "I was planning on checking on you before you asked to come over. How are you?"

Chuck glanced to his side where he expected Sarah to be and realized she had sidled away a couple of steps putting her out of view of his sister. She's still nervous. He quickly looked back at Ellie and blurted, "I'm good!" Ellie appeared unconvinced.

"I'm so sorry we couldn't do anything for Sarah. I mean, without the Intersect to upload with…" Ellie took a deep breath, slowly letting it out while she shook her head. "Even if we had it, I've had more time to think about my plan and I have my doubts now that it even would have worked. Oh, little brother, I feel awful. I got your hopes up. How can I make this better? What can I do?"

"Well, I'm doing much better this morning than I was yesterday," Chuck said. "I, uh, did run into someone who wanted to see you before you all left for Chicago." Chuck turned to Sarah, leaned and put his hand into the small of her back and gently drew her to his side, into view.

"Sarah?" Ellie's eyes darted between Sarah and Chuck several times. Devon had taken note of what was happening, caught a glimpse of Sarah, and his mouth fell open. Ellie's stare settled on Sarah. "I didn't think we'd see you again… so soon." The last bit Ellie tacked on, somewhat clumsily. Looking back and forth again between her brother and her sister-in-law, Ellie asked, "What's going on?"

Chuck inhaled as he prepared to answer, but Sarah took the question. "Ellie, your brother found me. I guess it was harder for me to leave than I thought, and he found me as I was struggling with what I should do. He and I talked for a while and then," Sarah glanced at Chuck with a small smile, "and then he found me. I rememb… sorry, that's not the right word, I feel things. I seem to feel everything from the last five years. Even though I can't remember the moments I've shared with people, the history I have with them, every emotion for family, friends, acquaintances are there for me."

Ellie's eyes narrowed and part of her seemed to be in deep thought, turning something over in her head. "That's amazing, Sarah. No memories, but every emotion. So, right now, with me, you… feel… what we have?" Chuck could hear and sense the hope in his sister's question.

Chuck's hand had not left Sarah's back and he could now feel her trembling. Sarah spoke, "Ellie, yes, I can feel how close we are, how grateful I am to have you in my life and for you letting me be part of yours. How I love you as my sister." Sarah's chest heaved, her eyes closed and she bent slightly at the waist. Chuck whirled from her side to bring his other hand around in case he needed to catch her. Devon, who had been holding the packing box the whole time dropped it and took a quick step around it and towards them. But Sarah caught herself and straightened. "Sorry. My sense is I have only a few friends. And precious few close friends. My whole being is telling me not to lose you, Ellie. It would devastate me. But I know what I did to you at that outdoor café, the threat I made. Oh, God. Ellie, I'm so sorry."

Ellie was shaking her head vigorously. "Not friends, not just friends, Sarah. We're family. And if your feelings are back, I think you may appreciate how important family is to me and how protective I am about my family." With a broad smile, Ellie added, "And let's not forget I deliberately crashed a car with you in it, so let's call it even."

Sarah snorted out a laugh and smiled back. "Ok. Even."

Ellie did a small shuffle dance with her feet. "Come here, both of you! Eeee!" His sister's squeal startled Chuck and before he recovered he found that he and Sarah were wrapped in a fierce hug from Ellie. Sarah returned the hug and was crying; Ellie, too, was crying. Chuck, enveloped by their hugs and their joy, looked over his sister's head to Devon, who looked back and silently mouthed, "Awesome."

"Boys." Ellie's voice was now commanding. "Could you let Sarah and me have some time to speak? I think she and I need to delve into what happened and what she experienced. Alone."

Chuck nodded and Devon said, "Sure, Babe." Devon went over to Clara and scooped her from the chair, then strode to the doorway to join Chuck.

~oOo~

Chuck and Devon sat on the fountain's edge and Chuck recounted in more detail for Devon the events of the day before, starting with Chuck's conversation with Morgan that occurred sitting at the same spot and ending with the drive back from the beach. (Chuck did not allude to what happened once he and Sarah were back in their apartment.) Chuck asked if he could hold Clara, and Devon gladly handed her over. A bright, toothy smile broke across Devon's face as he watched Chuck make silly faces that delighted Clara. "It's good to have the old Chuck back," Devon said. Chuck glanced at Devon and simply smiled, then looked back at Clara with yet another silly face to entertain her.

After a moment, Chuck switched from the parade of goofy expressions to bouncing Clara on his knee and asked, "What do you think happened to Sarah's memories? What do you think are her chances of getting them back?"

Devon let out a long breath. "Chuck, I don't know. Measured against the general public, I'm a smart guy. And when I'm in the operating room what my hands are able to do is, well, awesome, if I do say so myself. But when it comes to understanding the inner workings of the mind and how it might interact with the Intersect, that, Chuck, is your sister's turf. Ellie is on a different plane than the rest of us when it comes to that stuff. The good news is if someone can figure out what might have happened, theorize how to fix it, it's Ellie."

Both men fell quiet for several moments, listening to the gurgles coming from Clara and from the fountain behind them. At one point Chuck thought he faintly heard another one of his sister's squeals of delight. Oh boy, are they talking about me? At another point his phone buzzed and he cradled Clara so he could look at its screen. Fernando, one of the green shirts from the Buy More, asking for job leads. Still not the message he was hoping for. I'll have to get back to him later. He put it away and resumed bouncing Clara.

Devon cleared his throat. "So, Chuck, you and Sarah got back to your place last night, and you said she had all her feelings back. Knows that she loves you and wants to be with you. You two had a meeting of minds on how you feel about each other. Was there, um, a meeting of any other parts last night?" Chuck at the last moment had sensed where Devon was going with the conversation, but Chuck was nonetheless unbalanced by the roundabout question and his knee halted momentarily, throwing Clara's bounces out of rhythm. Chuck could not bring himself to look at Devon, but he could feel the color rising in his neck and cheeks. "Hey, Chuck, sorry, wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable, but looks like I got my answer. That happening, that's a good thing, right? Dispels all doubt." Chuck did not answer right away. "Was there a problem?" Devon asked.

Chuck kept his gaze on Clara, and found it easier to answer Devon's question by speaking to her. "It was good. Great. And there wasn't a problem for Sarah. She seems completely sure of her feelings for me, about being with me. For me, I dunno, maybe I was feeling awkward afterwards. She's in love with a stranger. Some parts of her mind recognize me as the man she loves; other parts have no idea who I am. I worry that it's maddening for her; it's certainly maddening for me. I think until Sarah gets her memories back or, if that's not possible, gets to know me again, I'll feel better if we reset on the, uh, physical intimacy and take it slow."

Devon nodded and said, smiling, "Chuck, you're a gentleman, perhaps to a fault. But you took it slow -awfully slow- the first time and that worked out." Both Devon and Chuck smirked at that. It seemed Clara did, too. "And if Sarah knows how she felt about you before, however you go about it now, you two will eventually be fine."

Chuck barked a laugh. "Morgan said basically the same thing."

"Well, you should listen to him. When it comes to you and Sarah, that guy..."

"Yeah, I know," Chuck interjected.

Morgan's apartment door swung open and he stepped outside. "Hey, guys!" Morgan strode over to join Chuck and Devon and stood before them. He gave Clara, who craned her neck to look at him, a finger wiggle wave. "Captain," he said (to which Devon returned a crooked smile), "Did our boy tell you what happened? Who's here?" Panic seemed to grip Morgan suddenly and he quickly asked Chuck, "She's still here, right?"

"Yes, Morgan, she's still here. And, yes, I told Devon. Sarah's talking with Ellie right now."

"Oh, good," Morgan sighed.

"Is Alex around?" Chuck asked.

"Nah, she had to leave early for work. I gave her a quick rundown on what you told me, and she wanted to see you two but didn't want to intrude. She'll come back over as soon as she can."

Chuck was about to respond when Ellie stepped through her doorway and called, "Hey, boys. Oh, hello, Morgan. Why don't you come back in now. You, too, Morgan. We've got things to discuss." The three men did not need to be asked a second time and were nearly to the door by the time Ellie had finished speaking.

~oOo~

"So memories are stored in the median temporal lobe, but emotions are centered in the eh-mig… what did you call it?"

"The amygdala," Ellie replied to Chuck.

Sarah added, "And Ellie thinks the separate regions for emotions and memories may in part explain why I've been able to recover the feelings that had formed during the past five years while my memories of that time still elude me."

The three were sitting at the dinner table, with Ellie at the head and Chuck and Sarah sitting on the sides across from each other. Devon stood near Ellie holding Clara against his shoulder while Morgan leaned against the wall behind Sarah.

"Chuck, I've been thinking about Dad's Intersect notes, my additional research on it, and the tests we ran on Morgan after he had the corrupted version. The Intersect is able to graft images into the subject's mind almost as though they are the subject's own visual memories and alter the subject's memory recall abilities so he, or she, experiences eidetic memory recall -photographic visualization- of those images if exposed to the correct stimuli. The Intersect does not seem to directly add to or alter emotional content in the subject's mind. Any sort of emotional response you had to flashes, Chuck, was simply your own nature reacting to what images the Intersect supplied you; the emotional responses were not augmented by the Intersect. The deleterious side effect of the corrupted Intersect that Morgan and then Sarah had, as best as I can figure at the moment, is a disruption of their ability to recall their own memories. Where the versions you had, modulated by Dad's governor, left your ability to recall your memories unaffected, the corrupted Intersect appears to contaminate those pathways -like cholesterol slowly building up on a blood vessel wall- adding more and more with each successive flash until the pathways are effectively clogged. That tangentially affects the subject's emotions…"

Morgan interrupted, "Why I became so douchey?"

Ellie sighed and looked at Morgan, "Yes, why you became more douchey."

"More?" Morgan asked quietly. Ellie smiled at Morgan to let him in on her teasing.

"But as we're seeing with Sarah, the 'blockage' on emotions caused by the corrupted Intersect is weaker, more susceptible to being overwhelmed with strong enough stimuli, as the Intersect was never designed to deliver emotional content or interact with that part of the brain."

"Ok," Chuck said, "What I'm hearing is that you believe Sarah's memories are blocked. Not lost, just that Sarah cannot get to her old memories. I mean, they have to be there, right? When she rearranged the cup stacks at the Berlin Weinerlicious it wasn't because she had recently run into Scooter and reminisced about shop inventory controls. Or her remembering Irene Demova to save General Beckman from Quinn's bomb, that had to be Sarah remembering that from our first evening together when we saved General Stanfield and a banquet hall full of people from being blown up." Chuck's eyes drifted from Ellie to Sarah and he looked wonderingly at Sarah. "The evening when I was sure I had lucked into a date with the most stunning, bewitching woman I had ever met." Sarah slightly blushed at those words. Morgan let out an "Ah."

"Who is Scooter? Irene?" Asked Ellie.

Chuck's gaze stayed on Sarah. "Scooter was Sarah's manager at the Burbank Weinerlicious. Irene Demova is a porn star and the namesake of an old computer virus."

At that, Ellie's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, Irene Demova," sighed Morgan. That was met with a disapproving glare from Ellie. Chuck had not taken his eyes off Sarah as he answered Ellie, watching Sarah for a reaction. She smiled, seemed slightly amused, but her eyes were asking questions, not announcing recollection.

Ellie asked Sarah, "Is that right, Sarah, both the Weinerlicious task and the, um, porn virus came back to you?" Sarah's head partly turned towards Ellie, but she was looking sidelong at Chuck, aware that he was staring intently at her, as she began to answer. "Yes, and no. I started reordering the cup stacks without thought about what I was doing. Chuck recognized it; I didn't. I couldn't put my finger on why I knew what to do with the cups. Still can't. For the computer virus, the name seemed to spring into my mind when I saw the old laptop computer controlling the bomb."

"A Prism Express," said Chuck. Again he studied Sarah. Nothing.

"But nothing else," Sarah continued, "nothing more about that first night with Chuck when I apparently learned of the computer virus."

Ellie was silent for a while, her eyes unfocused as she mulled this latest information. Everyone waited quietly. She finally spoke. "Interesting, both procedural memories and reportorial memories came back to you. Admittedly only fragments, lacking their context, but still that's encouraging."

Chuck fished in the cargo pocket of the shorts he was wearing, pulled out a clamshell case, and placed it on the table. "Will this help?" He asked. Everyone's eyes were on the case as he opened it to reveal the Intersect suppression device inside. "General Beckman left this with me in case I no longer wanted the Intersect in my head." He removed it from its case and turned it over and over in his hands. "Maybe I should ask, 'Will this hurt?' If Sarah tries suppressing the Intersect, which she may no longer have, could the attempt harm her?"

"Sarah recounted your conversation about her experiences since Quinn took her, she and I talked about it, too, and I agree, I don't believe she still has the Intersect. As for the contamination it left behind, I don't think the suppression device will help -it wasn't designed to remove the contamination because the contamination wasn't supposed to be there. The bug in the corrupted Intersect is responsible for that. But I also don't think attempting it will harm Sarah. There's no guarantees with any of this, but I'm fairly confident about that."

Chuck looked at Sarah. She gave him a nod and held out her hand. "Here is the activation button. Press that once you are wearing it," Chuck said. He handed her the device and she slid them over her eyes, then pressed the button. Chuck's hands balled into fists. He did not believe it would work, but he hoped, he prayed, nonetheless. Please. Please. Please.

After several moments Sarah slowly removed the device, the sequence apparently done, and handed it back to Chuck. He accepted, placed it in its case, and looked into her eyes. She frowned and shook her head. "I don't feel any different."

"Well, we should test it," Ellie said. "Sarah, do you remember…"

"Wait, Ellie." Sarah cut in. "Chuck and I spoke a lot on the beach yesterday. He told me so much of our story."

"Gotcha. Chuck, how about you ask a question? Something that Sarah would not have learned in these last couple of weeks, something you didn't tell her, but would be something she'd certainly know and remember if her memories were intact."

"Sure," Chuck said. "Hmmm, oh, I got it. Sarah, who officiated our wedding?" Morgan, still leaning against the wall behind Sarah levered his body to move off it and leaned slightly towards Sarah. Chuck fought the urge to look at his friend, but he could tell from his peripheral vision that Morgan was staring intensely at Sarah as though he was trying to transmit the answer from his head to hers.

Sarah closed her eyes. She pressed her lips together. A moment passed. Another. Her eyes opened, and they were moist. Chuck could see the sadness in them. "I don't know."

"Ah, man," whined Morgan, "I thought you said she remembered, Chuck."

"Sorry, buddy," Chuck said flatly, yet anger roared in him like rapids after a storm. He looked at the suppression device in its case and he fought back the urge to smash it, punish it for having anything to do with the Intersect. The damn Intersect. (But it brought Sarah to you in the first place.) And it took her from me! (But she's back now.) Yes, but how is it fair that Quinn wins, stealing from Sarah five years of the amazing women she was, of remembering how we both grew together and found our love? She had said on the beach "I'm not leaving," and he believed her. Still, if she could have her memories back, that would be justice. She deserved to have her memories back, and he desperately wanted those memories for her, the good and the bad. Yes, even Prague. And if ultimately her memories could not be unearthed, then the two of them would rebuild their life. They had their love, that was certain. But he was not ready to give up trying.

Sarah had turned her head to look over her shoulder at Morgan and had missed the pall that had blanketed Chuck's face. "Morgan, are you a minister or something?" She asked.

"According to the Intergalactic Federation of Planets, I am. I also was your limo driver."

"Did you cater it, too?" Sarah asked facetiously, her smile tinged by the sadness that lingered in her eyes.

"Nah. If I had, there definitely would have been pigs-n-blankets."

Sarah turned back to Chuck. He tried to hide his anger and frustration, but it was clear she saw. She reached her hand across the table and worked her fingers into his hand to open it -his hands were balled fists again- to take it into hers. Again she interlaced her fingers with his, forming a small bridge on the table between them. Sarah seemed to sense the question that Chuck couldn't voice. She asked, "Ellie, is there anything else we can try? Anything?"

"Well, every indication is that your memories are still with you, intact, and the pathways to them are, too, just impassable right now, or nearly so. A strong stimulus -my brother's kiss- was the solution for regaining access to your emotions. Some other strong, significant stimulus might do the same for your memories. What that might be is anybody's guess. And I have to stress 'might;' the right stimulus for your memories might be elusive, if indeed there is one."

Buzz. Chuck, on auto-pilot, woodenly pulled his phone out and looked. The message from the realtor read: Good news, the house is still on the market.

Yes! Maybe this was a sign.

xXXXx

A/N: If you are wondering, the realtor had arrived at work in the morning a little late. After working through some messages and follow ups she had from the day prior, she listened to a voicemail from Charles Bartowski, who was speaking rapidly - something about only having a couple minutes while his wife showered. Sure, the realtor had been peeved after previously loaning the house to this Charles Bartowski and his wife for a test drive only to learn afterwards that they had carved up some of the wood molding. The voicemail jogged the realtor's memory that Mr. Bartowski had promised to pay for the repair and the realtor had said she'd talk to the absent owners to make arrangements. But the realtor now realized that she had become preoccupied with pricier properties that promised larger commissions and simply forgot to follow up, so the repair work had gone undone. Now, as far as the realtor was concerned, Mr. Bartowski's call was a godsend. Barely more than two weeks ago there had been a burglary at the house, which seemed strange given that the house had been vacant for some time. Stranger still that apparently there had been shots fired. None of this boded well for selling the house. And when she had last spoken with the owners they indicated that getting details from the authorities about the break-in was proving surprising difficult, as though it was being swept under the rug. That didn't really matter to the realtor this morning, what mattered now was Mr. Bartowski's message asking about the house's availability, and, if the realtor was reading it correctly (and she usually did), that he seemed like a motivated buyer. She entered the cellular number he said she could text and sent him a message.

A/N2: For this chapter, I cribbed from WillieGarvin and Zettel to weave some relevant lingo into Ellie's description of the Intersect and Sarah's experience with the corrupted version. Any bad science is my fault, not theirs. (Hey, it's "Chuck.")